Rumour has it that a Sonic game is in development for Nintendo’s next-gen console: the ‘Revolution’.
The large videogaming site ‘IGN’ recently revealed that ‘Sources’ close to SEGA had confirmed that SEGA are indeed creating a new Sonic game for the unusual little console.
SEGA have given no confirmation that such a game exists, but reports place Yuji Naka as director on the project; if this is the case then Yuji is certainly stretching himself thin, what with the development of ‘Fifth Phantom Saga’ and the next-gen Sonic title for PS3 and XBOX360.
Of course this news would certainly explain why the next-gen Sonic title was missing from the Revolutions game line-up, one could speculate that SEGA wanted to use the consoles unique abilities to create a game not possible on any of the other next-gen systems.
On the negative side of things this reporter believes that system specific games are a bad thing. If the game does indeed take advantage of the Revolutions unique features then incompatibility issues arise, preventing porting, similar to Sonic Rush which could not be mimicked on any other platform.
With thanks to Doug of SSMB for bringing this to the attention of ‘Sonic News’.
Below is the quote from IGN:
January 19, 2006 – Sources close to SEGA have told IGN Revolution that the developer is working on a new entry into the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for Nintendo’s next generation console. The title, purportedly developed by a “top-tier” SEGA team led by Yuji Naka, will not be a port of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game tentatively dubbed “Sonic the Hedgehog [next gen].” Instead, say insiders, it is an entirely original effort designed from the ground up to take advantage of Revolution’s unique controller. No further details are available at this time.
While it’s easy to shrug this news off as a no-brainer, it is nevertheless an important development because it suggests that powerhouse publishers are thinking about ways to make innovative games on Nintendo’s upcoming platform rather than just porting over dumbed down versions of their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 projects. Furthermore, one source we spoke with alleged that they have known about a Revolution Sonic the Hedgehog game for at least two months, which indicates that it isn’t a freshly hatched concept. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that something might show at E3 2006, which explodes this May in Los Angeles.
More than a decade ago, SEGA and Nintendo were big rivals, but in recent times the companies have enjoyed a fruitful partnership. Sonic Team chose to make GameCube the official home of its hedgehog mascot, releasing ports of its hit Dreamcast titles as well as wholly original Sonic efforts for the system. Meanwhile, Nintendo contracted SEGA developers like Amusement Vision to co-create GCN efforts such as F-Zero GX. The Big N’s own Shigeru Miyamoto even entertained the idea of a mascot cross-over, in which Sonic could partner or square off against stars including Mario or Luigi. It is, therefore, not surprising that SEGA would continue to throw extra support Nintendo’s way.
When contacted, SEGA would not confirm that such a project is underway.
“SEGA has not announced its official plans to support Revolution,” a spokesperson for the company told us. “We are committed to creating great game content for all viable platforms, so when Revolution rolls out, it would be a safe bet to assume that we will be there.”
IGN Revolution reminds readers that this information could not yet be substantiated and therefore should not be taken as an official confirmation.
We’ll update with more on the story as information becomes available.